Back in Nov. 2018, a road millage was passed to repave 28 miles of county-controlled roads in Independence Township.
Residents approved this millage and were assessed two mils of taxation on residential and commercial property over a four-year period. The tax was listed as a “Road Maintenance Fund” on each resident’s “Winter Taxes” for the calendar years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The roads are now repaved and there is roughly $2,000,000 excess left over from the road millage. I attended a Coffee with the Supervisor meeting and was told by Supervisor Jose Aliaga that returning this money to the taxpayers would be too difficult a process and would not amount to much on an individual tax basis.
From my perspective, the road taxes I paid were intended only to repair designated roads. Excess monies should be returned to taxpayers by issuing a credit for the “Winter Taxes” even if it is only for a small amount.
With inflation what it is, I welcome anything that reduces my property taxes for one year.
For those residents that paid the four years of taxes and are still living in Independence Township, the math is quite simple. A little more work would be required for residences where the property has changed ownership during these four years. However, computer programs can easily be written to accommodate this issue.
The township office and supervisor need to step up to their fiscal responsibilities and return this excess money to its rightful owners – the Independence Township residents!
Gregory Petrosky
Independence Township